Portable spillage containers, also known as portable berms, are commonly used under tanks, pumps, boxes and other portable equipment to capture leaking liquids or solids and contain the leakage to protect the environment from contamination. These portable spillage containers typically comprise a flooring and upstanding perimeter wall and are constructed of a lightweight flexible material so that they can be easily transported and deployed. The equipment typically disposed within the walls of these containers often have hoses, cables and pipes extending therefrom to locations or other equipment located outside the walls of the spillage container. When these hoses or other connections pass over the flexible wall of the container, they may cause the wall to collapse and compromise the integrity of the container by providing an escape path for the contained material. It would therefore be desirable to provide a bridge for spanning the flexible wall of the spillage container that could carry the various hoses, cables and pipes over the container wall to preserve the integrity of the spillage container. Such a device should be light in weight so as to be readily portable, be able to fit in tight areas, yet be very stable so that the bridge is not easily upset or overturned by the movement of the hose or other equipment carried thereby during use. The bridge also should be configured to accommodate hoses, cables, pipes and any other equipment of different sizes and to prevent such equipment from being readily dislodged from the bridge during use and falling onto the containment wall.
The present invention provides such a bridge.
In addition to spanning spillage containment walls and providing the above-described portability, stability and versatility, it also would be desirable if such a bridge could be configured such that it could cooperate with one or more other such bridges and with one or more lateral extensions to provide a versatile and lightweight elevated temporary system for supporting hoses, cable and pipe over varying paths and distances above the ground. Such a system could keep hose, cable and pipe elevated above wet ground surfaces. It could eliminate abrasion and chemical damage to hoses by keeping high pressure hoses out of water and chemicals as, for example, during hydro-blasting. It also could be used to provide a versatile elevated hose support to eliminate acute bending in the hose in those applications involving elevated connections (e.g. elevated water tank) where the weight of the hose can put an undue loading stress on the hose connections and can cause kinking in the hose. The present invention also provides such a support system.
Briefly, the present invention comprises a portable hose bridge for use in spanning the wall of a portable spillage container so as to prevent hoses and other equipment extending from the containers from collapsing or distorting the wall of the containers and compromising the environmental integrity of the containers. The hose bridge of the present invention is of a durable, light weight, and single piece construction, preferably rectangular in configuration and defines a pair of perpendicularly disposed archways for spanning the wall in two different orientations, a pair of perpendicularly disposed and preferably differently sized saddles disposed above and extending parallel to the archways for carrying one or more hoses or other equipment over the wall, and four support legs bordering the archways for securely supporting and positioning the bridge such that one of the archways extends along and over a portion of the spillage container wall, orienting one of the saddles perpendicular to and above the container wall. So positioned, the saddle can receive and support one or more hoses, cables, pipes or other connections and direct those connections over the container wall without distorting the wall and adversely affecting the integrity of the spillage container. By providing the bridge with a rectangular configuration and differently sized saddles, a larger saddle can be disposed over the container wall in a highly stable position for most applications to best support and secure the particular hose or other connection or connections to be extended from the container over the container wall, thereby minimizing the chance of the bridge being overturned on the hose or other items thereon being inadvertently pulled from the saddle during use and collapsing the container wall. However, for applications in which space adjacent the container wall is very limited, the bridge can be rotated ninety degrees such that the shorter side of the bridge spans the wall and the second saddle spans the container wall to support the hose and/or other equipment.
In certain applications, it is necessary to support more hoses and/or other equipment from the spillage container area over the container wall that then can be securely carried by the larger of the two saddles formed by the bridge. Accordingly, the bridge is preferably provided with a plurality of support surfaces proximate one of the saddles therein that are adapted to receive correspondingly configured surfaces on an equipment support tray whereby the tray can be securely carried by a pair of the hose bridges so as to provide a larger elevated support over the container wall or an extended elevated support in applications where it is desirable to maintain equipment above the ground.
It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a durable lightweight bridge for supporting hoses, piping and cables over the flexible wall of a portable spillage container without distorting the wall and adversely affecting the integrity of the container.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a bridge which is particularly adapted to securely support hoses, piping and cables of different sizes so as to reduce the likelihood of a hose or other connection or connections being carried thereby from being dislodged from the bridge during use and falling onto the container wall.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a bridge that is that occupies minimal space during use yet is very stable as hoses or other equipment are moved thereon.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a bridge which is of simple construction, chemically resistant and economical to manufacture.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a highly portable device for supporting hoses and cables in an elevated position where the weight of the hose and/or cable would otherwise cause excessive loading on the hose and/or cable connections and/or acute bending in the hose and/or cable sufficient to damage the hose and/or cable.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a bridge which is adaptable for use with one or more such bridges and lateral extensions to provide a highly versatile and lightweight elevated temporary support for use in a wide variety of applications wherein it is desirable to raise the hose, pipe and/or cable or other equipment carried thereby off the ground and support the elevated hose, pipe and/or cable over varying paths and distances.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a bridge which is configured to nest with other such bridges to reduce the cost of storage and shipping.